For those who have been praying for breakthroughs and burdens, thank you. The Lord showed up on Day 7 (just like He did for every day of camp). It seemed like everywhere we looked, walls of fear and silence, pain and conviction were falling as the Lord kept working on each individual’s heart.

Break times were full of life and meaningful conversations, as students reached out to each other and to staff. The halls were filled with students sprawled out with their Bibles, colored pencils, and listening expectantly (some classes dispersed into individuals or small groups to do some of the Bible study before discussing together). Some classes even had students write impromptu songs capturing what they were learning (living out Ephesians 5:18-21)!

In the teachers’ meeting that afternoon, the room filled to overflowing with praise for our God and excitement over the spiritual concepts and Bible study skills these students demonstrated, proclaimed, and enjoyed during class!

Instead of the regular sports time, the entire camp did a team activity called “The Challenge.” It took a whole two hours, and no one ended sweat-less. We don’t want to spoil the activities for anyone coming to EQUIP Boot Camp 2; so make sure to ask those who experienced it and how it illustrated what we studied in Ephesians!

There was no slacking off for the last evening main session of camp – the speakers Mickey and Kristin Hammel were on point and strong in the Word of the Lord! Here are just a few snippets from their message recapping the book of Ephesians and honing into the various relationships seen in Ephesians 5-6:9

–“Relationships are hard, and relationships are messy” “Be very careful to not call the wisdom of God foolishness, because those who do according to 1 Corinthians 1:18-29 are perishing…It’s the age-old sin: to think that I can know more than God” –“Are you going to do what God says, or are you going to please yourself?” –“Do you really think that we should be laughing at the things that Christ died to save us from?” –“Do you care about other people being sanctified, growing in their relationship with the Lord? If you have a hard time doing that, the answer is not to try harder, the answer is to understand more about what it means to be in Christ and what the will of God is….we need the power of God to do these things” –“The only way that I can inwardly change and the only way that I can consistently outwardly change is through the power of the Holy Spirit” –“Don’t let anything else control you. Be filled with the Spirit.”

It felt like there was so much to say, so much to praise God for doing that we could have stayed up all night sharing stories and enjoying His goodness towards us. In fact, some of the rooms did just that! A handful of our staff also stayed up to pray more for the campers, praise God for the way He brings dead men to life through Christ, and to revel in the crazy fact that we really get the privilege to be a part of God’s work at camp!